For the European Citizens Initiative to have teeth, it has to be backed by at least one million EU citizens, coming from at least 7 out of the 28 member states.

Can you please share the link today?

Or you can copy and share this email if you prefer:

Dear Friends,

I signed an official petition (a European Citizens Initiative) calling for a ban on glyphosate weedkiller, a trustworthy pesticide approval procedure, and EU-wide targets to cut pesticide use.

We need 1-million signatures. A successful ECI guarantees us a right to a public hearing in the European Parliament, and compels the European Commission in Brussels to spell out what action it will take in response.

This is a special online petition only for people old enough to vote in European Parliament elections, including the UK.

Carmen ARSENE

Präsident

National Federation for Animal Protection (FNPA)

Organisation EDUXANIMA
Rumänien

April 4th: International Day of Stray Animals

In recent years, the 4th of April has come to be known as the International Day of Street Animals and is dedicated to stray animals around the world.

It is a known fact that stray animals are actually owned animals that have been abandoned. Wherever such animals exist is an indication that nothing consistent, efficient, and responsible has been done.

Stray animals in Romania alone have become more and more numerous as the country’s program to kill them has expanded; however, the Romanian authorities do not yield and do not change their approach. Moreover, stray animals have turned into a big business that those in charge have no interest giving up. The suffering and death of tens of thousands of animals every year, the discontentment of the society, who calls for a program to reduce the numbers of stray animals, the efforts of organizations and private individuals to rescue from the street or from public shelters (true extermination camps) that are funded (whether we agree or not) by all of us, the NGOs’ efforts to carry out spay & neuter campaigns in an attempt to offset the havoc played and maintained by the Town Halls have not led the authorities to develop an effective (and humane) program, either because they refuse to listen to the experts, or because they simply cannot renounce the business.

April 4th is the day in which we should become aware of the existence of stray animals and of their daily suffering and ill-treatment as a result of our irresponsibility.

The only way to stop their ordeal is spaying & neutering all owned animals – and thus help prevent any further abandonment of unwanted animals –, or a proper management of their offspring. Therefore: responsibility, ethics, compassion – those qualities that make us civilized humans.

We are also encouraging people to support stray animals by providing them with food, water, care, and protection, and wherever possible, take them off the street or out of the shelters, thus saving a life for good.

3/4/17. Today we have received the following letter from the EU regarding one of our petitions and the question of stray animals in Serbia as well as the long distance transportation of live animals within the EU and to Turkey.

You can see a full copy of the EU response here:

We are disappointed but not at all surprised by the wording of the EU letter. Basically, it does very little apart from pass the blame onto everyone else apart from the EU. As we have always said, the EU is very good at talking the talk; but when it comes to enforcing its own legislation, then the EU is very much outside the enforcement envelope.

On sheets 2 and 3 of the letter you can see we have identified a few statements in the margin using Orange.

Sheet 2 – Notice To Members.

“Most of the issues raised in the petition with regard the management of stray dog populations are not under EU competence”.

Serbia is currently an EU ‘Candidate Country’; getting ready to become an EU member state. In order to become an EU member state; any hopeful nation has to show it is in full compliance of the EU requirement of showing that it is enforcing the ‘rule of law’ – that it is enforcing its own national legislation within its nation. As we have shown for the past 10 years or more, Serbia is NOT applying the rule of law as written in existing Serbian legislation when it comes to the welfare of (mainly stray) dogs and cats.

We wanted to make this issue of great importance to the EU Enlargement Commission when considering Serbia’s application to join the EU. You can see further information about Serbian legislation for stray animals by visiting https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-serbian-animals/

But we are disappointed to simply be given the statement that “stray dog populations are not under EU competence”. We feel that this is action by the EU to simply pass the monitoring game back to individual member states as it always does; who as we have seen in other work (live transport); cannot enforce the EU regulations within their own country. Why will the EU not introduce stray animal legislation ? – because stray animals do not earn money for member states the same way as meat / live animals do when they are transported to other nations for slaughter. I guess you could say it is all a question of economics and finance – and stray animals come second !

Effectively; this EU letter gives the green light to Serbia to continue killing stray animals in whatever way it wants even thought they should be given protection under existing Serbian national legislation, as decreed by the Serbian Constitutional Court many years ago (2005). Put simply, the EU will be happy to take Serbia in as a new EU member state; whilst at the same time ignoring the fact that it does not comply with the EU member state rules of adhering to national law; whilst at the same time continuing to kill animals in the most barbaric and illegal ways.

Moving on to sheet 3 and the issue of the live transport of animals. Conclusion – Here we read that the EU ‘has launched a 3 year pilot project to develop and disseminate the best practices for animal transport’. We are extremely disappointed to read that the EU Commission does not envisage revising the current EU legislation on animal transport but will continue to assist member states in their efforts for its better enforcement. The words in reality mean nothing.

Please read the excellent report by Animals Angels below – ‘The Myth of Enforcement of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport’.

As we have said so many times in the past; we have ‘head in the sand’ people like Mr Van Goethem and associated EU Commissioners; who should be changing the regulations regularly to better animal welfare and move away form the continual abuses which has been provided to them in so many forms over so many years. Here are just a few examples:

A report by Animals Angles evidence to the EU – ‘The Myth of Enforcement

of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport’.

So in conclusion, we have a ‘system’ called the EU – it brags; talks loud and posts so much on its internet service to make anyone in the world think that the system is fantastic. The reality is, as shown by activists out on the road; and when they / we try to relate failing and their non enforcement to EU legislation, the EU authorities turn the other way and put their heads deep down into the sand. The EU dopes not want to be shown that anything is wrong in its ‘perfect, paper system’.

Last week the UK triggered Article 50 – we are going to get out and away from these people who are paid big salaries to do things; but whom in reality do nothing. By leaving and going it alone, the UK will show the world (and the EU) that things are much better when you take back control. It is the UK against 27 other member states – so we shall see exactly how much control the EU masters have on all their members when Brexit negotiations actually get under way.